READ: 2 Corinthians 5
BACKGROUND: By Verse –
1 – This is a comparison between our temporal earthly bodies and our eternal bodies.
3 – “not be found naked…” means that we aren’t going to just float around bodiless forever.
10 – This “judgment seat,” the behma, is one where all believers will be judged by their deeds for the purpose of rewards.
15 – We ought to respond the to Cross by living selflessly!
17 – Really cool aspect of this verse: “passed away” is in the Greek aorist tense – meaning it is completely done and in the past, and “have come” is in the Greek perfect tense – meaning that the new effects are lasting and ongoing every day for the believer.
THINK: Sir Winston Churchill laid out some very specific and very unique plans for his own funeral. He wanted it to begin with the playing of the traditional military bugle call for the end of a day or the end of a life, Taps. This request was not particularly noteworthy or out of the ordinary. But Churchill’s vision for the end of his funeral was. He asked that they close the proceedings with the bugles playing Reveille, the loud and upbeat call that is used to awaken soldiers to each new day.
This was intentionally designed by Churchill to remind those in attendance that death is not the end. For Christians, death is pretty similar to the end of a day. It is the closing of one chapter, but the beginning of something new – something bigger and better. It is easy to worry about losing loved ones. And it is easy to fear death and worry about what it will mean. But, knowing the truth about who God is and the eternal life he’s made available to us through Christ can alleviate all of that. Death has no victory. It has no sting. It is merely the beginning of a glorious eternity. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!
PRAY: Thank God for the outrageous hope that he has given us for an eternity with him! You could spend some time worshipping him while listening to this song – a great celebration of the future we have in store.
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